Democritus as a social philosopher

The object of the study is the philosophy of Democritus in the organic connection of its ontological, epistemological, and ethical components. The subject of the study is the heuristic potential of Democritus’s ideas applied to society, which is revealed through a non-mechanical interpretation of his atomic theory. The author analyzes the philosophical discourse of Democritus in detail, through which he resolves the eternal paradox of philosophy—using the means of ordinary language to express something different concerning the world around us. Special attention is given to the ability of this discourse to overcome the elitism present in the texts of Parmenides and Heraclitus, without reducing it to the level of simple representations, making it accessible and understandable for ordinary citizens. An analysis is made of the paradoxical conclusions of contemporary atomic theory, which reflect problems similar to those that Democritus had to address. The main method of the research is abduction, i.e., the logical argument underlying everyday reasoning. Unlike deduction, this is not a strictly logical conclusion but rather a hypothesis; nevertheless, such an approach can be justified based on Democritus's own methodology. The novelty of the research lies in the attempt to extrapolate Democritus’s atomic theory to the theory of individuals. The main conclusions of the conducted research are as follows. When speaking of atoms, Democritus operates not with rational concepts that are impersonal and rely on linguistic structures outside the context of communication for the formation of thought. He constructs concepts that are formed in the process of living speech, which unfolds not so much in the realm of grammar (although it is a part of this speech) but in the space of the soul, with its internal rhythms and energy. The concept, in its formation, implies another subject, and this connects Democritus’s discourse with contemporary philosophy, where the need for the Other, the reader standing behind the author's text, increasingly resonates. In the context of the research, Democritus's teachings are particularly relevant for modern social philosophy, focused on overcoming the inertia of systems and implying active participation of people in creating social forms, where they act not as passive resources but as nuclear forces. This allows achieving results through collective efforts that are unattainable by simply summing their individual capabilities.